Taking the Lead: The Management Revolution - At the Helm: Styles of Leadership View more episodes

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[Narrator]>> of or thatcan brig an oganizaion
to life and turn an assemblage of individuals
into a dynamic team, leadership has to be
near the top of the list.

00:00:52

But what is leadership?

00:00:53

Does it come justfrom the person or people
in charge of an organization,or is there
more to it?

00:00:59

One view traces the essence of leadership
to the character traitsof individual leaders.

00:01:04

>> It seems to me that everyleader--every
person who
might call herself or himselfa leader has
three elements
involved in their basic character.

00:01:17

I want you to think about theseas a tripod
of three legs
because they have to be keptin some dynamic
tension.

00:01:26

And one of the three legs is ambition, drive,
what the psychologist mcclellantalked about
the need for power,
the need for achievement.

00:01:35

You also needs competence and expertise.

00:01:39

And there's no one whodoesn't have some of
that.

00:01:42

And the third pole or leg isthat of a moral
compass,
ethics, values.

00:01:51

And let's call that integrity.

00:01:52

>> That means they're not just honest.

00:01:54

That's part of integrity.

00:01:56

But their lives are integratedaround a set
of principles.

00:02:01

And it gives them their orientation
toward everything that happens.

00:02:04

It also gives them that--their security from
within.

00:02:10

I think that the secondcharacteristic would
be
they have certain capacitiesinside their
character.

00:02:19

They think in abundance terms.

00:02:20

That means they want to promote the growth
and development of other people.

00:02:25

[Narrator]>> promoting the growthof other
people suggests
a broader view of leadership.

00:02:30

That it doesn't just involvethe character
of the leader
but what he or she brings out in the group.

00:02:36

>> Leadership is an empowerment.

00:02:37

You empower people to dowhat they think is
best
for the organization knowingthe values of
the organization.

00:02:44

Now, the leader has to makesure that everyone
in the organization knowsthe values of the
organization
and the goals of the organization.

00:02:53

>> I was not a natural leaderand I was not
a natural delegator.

00:02:57

I was one of those people whodid the assignments
myself,
and I was one of those people who viewed,
early on in my career, thatthe involvement
of others
was a complexity that I would prefer to avoid.

00:03:11

It became apparent to me asmy responsibilities
increased
that it was ever more importantthat I learn
to delegate
and ever more important thati learn to rely
on others.

00:03:22

It was somewhere during thatprocess a decade
or so ago
that I realized that the mostimportant thing
I can do is
coach, and counsel, developthe pride in the
people
who I'm relying on.

00:03:37

So that they will then go out and see that
we
accomplish our mission.

00:03:41

[Narrator]>> accomplishing a missionsuggests
a third aspect
of leadership, the ability to influence people
to accomplish objectives.

00:03:49

Different leadership styles will be effective
in different situations.

00:03:53

>> What you have to do--thebehaviors you
have to utilize
might vary depending onvarious characteristics
of the situation,
various characteristicsof the employees,
various characteristics of the environment.

00:04:04

All in all it just depends on the situation
what kind of managerialbehavior is going
to be
the most effective.

00:04:09

>> The starting up of anorganization requires
certain kinds of skills,requires being able
to say
out of a hundred things wecould do in the
next two days
we're going to do these three.

00:04:18

And that stands in sharp contrast
to another kind of leadershipsituation, the
turnaround,
when an organization is in deep trouble.

00:04:25

And that becomes an issue ofhow do you stop
the bleeding.

00:04:27

A third major kind is a largeorganization
that's doing okay.

00:04:33

And now we're talkingabout three to five
years
to create a major change.

00:04:38

[Narrator]>> often an effective leaderis
someone who has a vision
that seems to bring everything into focus.

00:04:43

>> Leadership is basicallya process of identifying
in any particular situationwhere we need
to go.

00:04:52

What's the vision of whatwe're trying to
achieve,
and what's the strategy for getting there,
of getting the relevant partiesthat need
to be onboard
and believing in that objectiveonboard and
believing it
not only in their heads but in their hearts.

00:05:10

>> That's the basic ingredient,that capacity
to inspire,
to enroll, to createfollowership in turbulent
times,
and to--through vision--and to sustain that
vision
through action.

00:05:26

>> If you list who would begreat leaders,
I think
what you'd find is they arepeople who got
organizations
to move, to achieve something that was compelling.

00:05:39

I mean john kennedy said, "we're going to
send
"
it was a very simple statement.

00:05:43

But for some reason peoplebelieved--they
believed him.

00:05:47

And they believed that therewas going to
be a commitment
on his part, a commitment from the government.

00:05:54

He created an agency.

00:05:55

We put money behind it.

00:05:57

Next thing we know we picked astronauts.

00:05:59

We started to build rocket ships.

00:06:00

People said, "wow, I thinkwe're going to
"
and then wonderful thngs hapened.

00:06:05

[Narrator]>> possessing a vision andbeing
able to inspire
other people to action mark twoof the main
distinctions
between a leader and a manager.

00:06:14

>> Management is fundamentallya process of
figuring out
in some meticulous detail howyou get from
here to there
both in terms of specific actions
and in terms of finances.

00:06:26

What leadership does--whatthe leadership
process does
is it helps you to create change.

00:06:31

And not just incrementalchange but major
change.

00:06:34

>> And in this world where change is the
rule
rather than the exception, perhaps one
of the most importantingredients of leadership
is going to be the abilityto constantly learn,
and grow,
and adapt to the environment around us.

00:06:50

>> Good morning, mr. schulze.

00:06:51

>> Hey, orlando, how are you?

00:06:53

>> Fine, thank you, sir.

00:06:54

>> Nice to see you.

00:06:56

Hi, chan, how are you?

00:06:57

[Narrator]>> horst schulze, presidentand
chief operating officer
of the ritz-carlton hotelcompany, is a classic
example
of a leader who has come upthrough the ranks
and knows
how to connect with the people in the ranks.

00:07:08

>> I think of myself very often as a waiter.

00:07:11

And because I have beena waiter for so many
years
I understand our employee.

00:07:17

I have done that job.

00:07:19

I understand the hardship,the difficulties,
the pain.

00:07:23

So that's probably also whyi feel close to
every--
in my heart, close to every employee
within the organization.

00:07:33

>> I think horst clearly remembers being
a line employee.

00:07:38

He clearly remembers leavinghome when he
was 14 years old
and becoming an apprenticewaiter, cleaning
dishes,
and living in the boarding house, and working
extremely hard, and emigrating to the united
states.

00:07:50

And he remembers the toughdays and constantly
draws on
those experiences and thatemotion when he
relates
to the employees.

00:07:59

[Narrator]>> for schulze being a waiterdoesn't
connote servitude
but rather an opportunity toprovide distinguished
service.

00:08:06

>> I enjoyed working as a waiter.

00:08:07

I enjoyed this true momentof service, this
true moment
of welcoming the guests, and this complying
to the guests' wishes.

00:08:18

Not just for the food butsensing when the
guests
needed attention.

00:08:23

[Narrator]>> a point that schulzeemphasizes
with employees
is that he isn't above them.

00:08:28

They are all working together.

00:08:30

>> You see I myself consider myself an employee
of the organization.

00:08:35

I'm an employee.

00:08:36

I fulfill a different function, not less,
but also
not more important thanany employee's function.

00:08:43

>> If you have a problem or youwant to talk
about anything
his ears are always opento hear--his heart
is.

00:08:50

He is compassionate for you.

00:08:51

He is just a wonderful guy.

00:08:53

>> I go to work for two reasons.

00:08:55

One is my vision--to accomplish excellence.

00:09:00

That's my vision.

00:09:02

And the other reason for my going to work
is to see my friends.

00:09:06

My friends are all the peoplei work with
and there is
no barrier there, absolutely none.

00:09:11

[Narrator] >> schulze's vision of excellence
and the ritz-carlton'stradition of excellence
have combined to produce impressive results.

00:09:18

Schulze has been named "corporate hotelier
of the world" by "hotels"magazine and the
ritz-carlton
was the first hotel companyto receive the
prestigious
malcolm baldrige quality awardfrom the u.s.

00:09:27

Department of commerce.

00:09:30

Not surprisingly when it comesto communicating
the vision
of excellence to employees,schulze does it
personally
by conducting leadershipsessions at every
hotel
in the ritz-carlton chain.

00:09:41

>> Teaching is probablythe most important
thing
that a leader can give.

00:09:47

Teaching is truly giving.

00:09:50

It is creating the future for your organization.

00:09:56

So you had an obligationto do that in the
first place
setting standards, certainly,caring at the
same time
setting a vision, creating consensus relative
to the visionsthat the organization has.

00:10:11

And making employees partof that vision,
not having
employees work for yourorganization but have
employees
join your organization.

00:10:21

schulze conducts his
leadership sessions in allof our hotels,
every new hotel
prior to its opening and then once a year
in the existing hotels.

00:10:31

He continues to reinforce thatmessage, continues
to reinforce
that vision for the companyso that it crystallizes
in everyone's mind.

00:10:41

[Narrator]>> schulze backs up histeaching
and leadership
by the example he sets.

00:10:45

>> Well, you gain the trustinto the vision,
into the goals
that has been set by living it,by clearly
showing that you
the leader is drivingrelentlessly but caring
to what that vision--involvingeverybody,
seeking help
seeking input toward the vision from all
concerned.

00:11:10

It will be very clear in a short time
to everyone around that it isreal, that it
is sincere,
and that it is of benefit.

00:11:19

[Narrator]>> in 1989, the ritz-carlton
embarked on a total qualitymanagement or
tqm program.

00:11:26

With its emphasis on standards that employees
help
to create, tqm provided a perfect fit
for schulze's leadership style.

00:11:33

>> When as an organization wecame to the
point where we
didn't really know how to make it better,
having been voted best hotelcompany, et cetera,
et cetera.

00:11:45

We said, all right, being thebest how do
you become better?

00:11:51

And we clearly saw thattotal quality management,
which in itself calls for the involvement
of the mind of every employee,that that is
the answer.

00:12:06

>> He never forces hisinterpretation on others.

00:12:11

He shares it freely but clearlycreates the
atmosphere,
clearly insists that everyone work independently,
that everyone take the vision and in keeping
that
as the focus then go out on your own--
make your own mistakes.

00:12:32

>> As a leader, of course, you have to create
an environment where--which is free and open
to allow employees to be involved
and to allow employees to fail.

00:12:42

If that doesn't exist theemployee will be
scared
to be ridiculed, to be wrong, to be laughed
at.

00:12:54

That doesn't go.

00:12:55

That is not leadership.

00:12:57

The leadership accepts, and respects,
and has compassionfor every individual.

00:13:03

Leaders identify opportunities,and reach
for opportunities
and that stirs things up, because opportu--
creation opportunities means new things,
new directions, which creates an uproar
because anything new creates uproar.

00:13:19

But making people buyinto those new ideas,
to those new dreams,to those new visions.

00:13:25

That again is the role of the leader.

00:13:27

>> This is fully in production now, is that
correct?

00:13:30

>> Correct. >> okay.

00:13:31

So I can expect to see thisthroughout the
product line
through everything across the board?

00:13:35

>> Totally. >> totally.

00:13:36

Are you happy with this, barry?

00:13:37

[Narrator]>> barbara nyden rodsteinfounded
harden industries
with her late husband harvey in 1982.

00:13:44

The vision behind the company was simple
and bold.

00:13:46

To design bathroom fixturesas if they were
sculptures.

00:13:50

In six years rodstein parlayed a $5,000 investment
into a company with annual gross sales
exceeding $25 million.

00:13:59

Like horst schulze,barbara nyden rodstein
came from a background of poverty.

00:14:04

>> When I look back asa child and--look at
some
of the experiences that I had,i just am thankful
I made it.

00:14:14

And sometimes I wonder how.

00:14:16

Having had those experiencesdid not necessarily
train me
for leadership, but fear of failure has.

00:14:26

[Narrator]>> if leadership styles canbe viewed
on a continuum
between autocratic and participative,
rodstein's style is definitelyon the participative
side
of the scale.

00:14:36

>> We try to encourage oneanother through
communication,
the interplay of personality topersonality
and idea to idea.

00:14:47

And everyone expresses their interests in
a project
or everyone expresses theirdefinition of
a project.

00:14:56

And thereby they make some sort of a commitment
to it.

00:15:00

Even if it's a tacit agreement, if you're
just present
while it's being discussed, you're encouraged
to participate.

00:15:07

Once I get that participationi know I've
got the commitment.

00:15:10

And once I make it fun I knowthat they're
going want
to be part of it.

00:15:14

[Narrator]>> beyond the benefit of getting
people
to buy into ideas rodstein's style
brings out the leadershippotential in her
coworkers.

00:15:22

>> Someone who feels stronglyabout it and
has a level
of commitment ability usually takes over
the meeting
and that's my signal.

00:15:30

And I just sit back and manyof my people
comment about that.

00:15:35

They'll say you can always tellwhen barbara's
retreated--
she starts looking around herdesk at paper
and my attention
wanders because I know thatit's in good hands
already.

00:15:45

I know that something's beingtaken care of
and I don't
have to worry about it.

00:15:48

[Narrator]>> for the person who created the
company
and has final authority on all decisions,
rodstein views her positionwith disarming
modesty.

00:15:56

>> There's a lot of push-pull here.

00:15:57

It isn't just me pulling.

00:15:58

A lot of people behind me whoare brighter,
more aggressive,
and have higher energy levels, and sometimes
more
of an interestn what they do than even i
have,
they push me along and theyforce me to grow
with them.

00:16:10

[Narrator]>> even in hiring new employeesrodstein
doesn't attempt
to exalt or protect her own position.

00:16:16

Instead she tries to bring thestrengths of
others into play.

00:16:20

>> I think it's very importantto know your
weaknesses.

00:16:24

When you're screening and interviewing,
and looking for a coworker,it's nice to have
someone
who really complements you.

00:16:34

Who is--i mean it in the sense that their
abilities
make up for your shortcomings.

00:16:43

Because that's a--i think,a sure-fire combination
for success, if you work together as a team,
which we tend to do around herein a lot of
the projects
we undertake.

>> If you ask peopleto free associate
what words come to mind whenthey ask--when
they hear
the word "leader," whatthey say is command,
strong, linear thinker,competitive, and so
forth.

00:17:14

And it's interesting that thoseare the very
same attributes
"
[narrator]> argubly a ale ledershipstyle
ight work best
in traditional hierarchicalorganizations
which emphasize
chain of command, but theworkplace is changing.

00:17:30

>> We don't have hierarchies.

00:17:31

Information is communicated in a fast way.

00:17:35

We can't wait for it to go up and down the
line.

00:17:38

So the attributes that women bring to the
workforce
which are a comfort with ambiguity,
a sharing of information, a sharing of power,
because they've been outsideof the traditional
structures
of organizations turn out to be very effective
in terms of motivatingand leading organizations.

00:18:01

>> I think you've heardthe phrase--i don't
know
if you've ever heard this phrase, you know,
and I've used it in other situations saying,
"you don't have to be with me.

00:18:11

Just don't be against me.

00:18:12

And if that doesn't work justget the hell
"
so I like to know when I'm supposed to move
out of the way sometimes too.

00:18:20

And sometimes I have to do that.

00:18:21

I have sit back, recognizei can't do these
things
and let the people around me who have the
ability,
and the commitment and desire succeed, and
sit there
and cheer them on.

00:18:33

Because it only makes melook good and I like
that.

00:18:37

I like that a lot.

00:18:40

♪♪ [Music playing] ♪♪

00:18:46

>> all of us in dade countywelcome virgin
atlantic and
richard branson.

00:18:51

We're glad you're here.

00:18:52

[Narrator]>> though only in his earlyforties
richard branson has
established an astonishingentrepreneurial
record
as the founder, chairman, and chief executive
of the virgin and voyager group of companies.

00:19:02

Branson has started or become a partner
in nearly 200 ventures.

00:19:06

Of these the best known are virgin records
and virgin atlantic airways.

>> Well, I think all of us have to go back
to--
back to one's parents and ithink I take more
of my mother
in an entrepreneurialsense than my father.

00:19:35

I remember when I was sixyears old driving
in devon down to my grandparents'.

00:19:42

And about three milesfrom my grandparents'
house,
and, you know, she stoppedthe car and opened
the door
and said, "right now you go and find your
own way
"
and it was about 7 o'clock atnight and beginning
to get dark.

00:19:55

And off I went and got completely lost
and anyway found a farmhouse and finally
got home
to a very, very worried mother who'd realized
she'd maybe overstepped her mark somewhat
in bringing up her children.

00:20:12

But she tried to--they tried to again give
me
quite a lot of freedomat quite a young age.

00:20:20

[Narrator]>> the bransons' willingnessto
give richard freedom
never wavered even when he announced at age
15
that he wanted to quit schooland start a
magazine.

00:20:28

>> My father's attitude waswell at least
you know
what you want to do.

00:20:32

You know most people don't know what they
want to do
when they're 21.

00:20:35

Give it a go and if doesn'twork out we'll
try to get you
some education again later on.

00:20:42

[Narrator]>> within a year, young bransonhad
earned a million dollars.

00:20:46

Although ups and downs followed, branson
always maintained the sameapproach to leadership,
utilizing a style that has been characterized
as inspired delegation.

00:20:54

>> And what I've tried to dois give people
a lot of freedom
and freedom--freedom to make mistakes as
well as
to make successes of themselves.

00:21:07

And if they do make mistakes I try to make
sure
that I don't criticize them,because I think
that if
somebody's made a mistake theyknow they've
made a mistake.

00:21:17

They don't need anybody to tell them.

00:21:19

>> He lets you makea decision.

00:21:20

He leaves it up to youthe final decision.

00:21:22

And that way he lets you--you learn by it.

00:21:25

I mean, if you make a mistakehe accepts it
and he lets you try again.

00:21:29

>> I think that in the same waythat you bring
up children,
a leader, you know, shouldpraise, praise,
and praise.

00:21:38

And I think that brings out the best in people.

00:21:42

We all like to be told howwonderful we are,
and that
spurs us on to try to go to even better things.

00:21:50

[Narrator]>> in their studies on the life
cycle of leadership,
hersey and blanchard notedthat a critical
feature
of effective leadership isthe ability to
let go
of the reins when group membersdon't need
tight control.

00:22:02

Richard branson's abilityto let go and rely
on others
has helped him to develop a wealth
of capable long-term colleagues.

00:22:09

>> I was lucky in thati started as a teenager.

00:22:12

And the people who I was working with
were also teenagers, and we'veliterally grown
up together.

00:22:20

I think that fact that we are delegating
to people
that we know well, because they've grown
up
within the companies helps.

00:22:25

So you know, I'm always pretty certain whether
or not
somebody's going to go wild or not.

00:22:34

[Narrator]>> the most outwardly visible aspect
of branson's leadership styleis his enthusiasm
and concern
for other people.

00:22:41

>> Well, see ya later.

00:22:43

>>The most important aspectof running a company
is
motivating your staff andcaring about them,
basically.

00:22:55

>> I think a lot of peoplerealize about richard
branson that he's human.

00:22:58

That he understands people's needs.

00:23:01

It's like for the crew for instance.

00:23:02

There's not one passengercould ask of her
crewmember,
and she or he won't be able tosay that they
haven't met him.

00:23:08

>> You may have no endof important business
meetings.

00:23:11

Your diary might keep on getting full up.

00:23:13

But you've just got to clear--clear the time
and the space
to go out and be with yourstaff as often
as you can.

00:23:20

[Narrator]>> at any given time, branson
may hop on a flight
and throw himself into servicewith the rest
of the crew.

>> By the time one's talked to 500 passengers,
you'll know exactly whetheror not you're
doing it right
or not doing it right.

00:23:39

By the time you talk to your20 cabin crew,
you'll be able
to find out whether things aregoing right
or not going right.

00:23:46

And you'll always end up,however good a company
may be,
with some suggestions for improvements
for the next flight.

00:23:53

>> There was one time, richard on the plane
when I was giving a passenger a massage.

00:23:58

And I was massaging thisgentleman, and richard
told me
to move away and he startedmassaging the
passenger.

00:24:06

And actually the passengerdidn't realize
at first
and then suddenly he looked up and there
was richard,
and he absolutely loved it.

00:24:13

He always tries to getinvolved and they don't
realize it at first.

00:24:17

It's like when he's on the plane,
he's always serving tea and coffees,
and putting on the uniform justto make passengers
laugh.

00:24:27

He gets involved.

00:24:27

He's prepared to sort of basically muck in
with everybody else.

00:24:31

And they absolutely love it.

00:24:33

>> Richard leads from the front.

00:24:35

That's how I put it.

00:24:36

He gets involved and takesyou in a direction
that he thinks you should go.

00:24:42

[Narrator]>> richard branson has foundedeach
of his enterprises
on a clearly focused,often brilliantly simple
strategic plan.

00:24:50

He conceived virgin atlanticairways, for
instance,
after assessing the qualityof other airline
service,
and carefully studying why british entrepreneur
freddy laker had failed in his attempt
to pioneer low-budget travel across the atlantic.

00:25:03

>> I had decided that hismistake was that
he'd gone
for a low-quality product and low fares.

00:25:11

I felt that the only way thatyou could sustain
low fares
was to go for the best product in the world.

00:25:17

And by creating the bestproduct, you get
people
going out of their way to flyyou and telling
their friends
about you.

00:25:25

And you'll be able to attract the business
market
and the businessman.

00:25:29

And because the businesspeople were traveling
you,
you could then afford to reduce your fares
to the tourist traveler.

00:25:37

[Narrator]>> richard branson professesthat
he's not a gambler,
that he carefully limitsthe risks in any
venture.

00:25:43

But the key to his leadership style as well
as
to the admiration and loyaltyhe inspires,
may well be
that he's willing to take a chance.

00:25:59

>> He's seen by not just hisstaff but by
the public
at large is as, as we say in england,
putting his money where his mouth is.

00:26:08

Therefore, if he wants to dosomething, he's
quite likely
to just go and do it.

00:26:14

Because he instinctively feels it's right.

00:26:17

>> I think the sad thing isthat people are
too afraid
of failure.

00:26:21

And I think that by definition a failure
is somebody
that doesn't give something a try.

00:26:26

And I think if somebody givessomething a
try and fails
that they haven't failed.

00:26:31

They've learned a lesson, which hopefully
the next time around itcan be put to good
use
and be successful the next time.